After the Doors Opened
by masterctarl
Summary: Ch 3 is up! What happened after the twins first opened the doors? This is the tale of the when the Host Club was born. The twins are unsure of the huge step, Mori struggles with his place in the club, and Kyouya almost quits before the first opening day.
1. The First Meeting

Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran Kou-Kou Host Club or any of the people or places associated with it. Everything belongs to Bisco Hatori. Please do not sue me.

Note: This is my take of what happened when Hikaru and Kaoru first joined the Ouran Host Club. There are some time-line errors, I know, please bare with me. The first few chapters focus on Hikaru and Kaoru mostly. The focus on Mori and Kyouya, as mentioned in the description, will be in later chapters. But I assure you it will come. This does contain minor twincestual themes. If you don't like it, don't read it.

Chapter 1  
The First Meeting

As Hikaru and Kaoru stepped through the doors of the 3rd Music Room on that fateful day two years ago, both were unsure what to expect. They did see, however, exactly those Tamaki Suoh said there would be. Kyouya Ootori sat at a table, writing intently in a notebook. He'd pause every now and then, glance at someone or something, assumably making some kind of decision or calculation, and then continue writing. Tamaki sat next to Mitsukuni Haninozuka and Takashi Morinozuka, looking serious for once and discussing something with them.

As the twins approached them, they quickly determined that he was discussing their roles in the club. "Basically," Tamaki said, "you two are the perfect counter balance for each other. Hunny-sempai, you're almost the personification of cuteness, and Mori-sempai, girls love your strong, silent-type charm. But both are overwhelming alone, so they need each other to balance the other out."

"I get it," Hunny said, batting a fist into his palm. "Like cake and tea!" Tamaki let out a small laugh and nodded. Kyouya's pen paused at the sound and he glanced over. He then returned to writing.

Hikaru cleared his throat after a moment. "We didn't come all the way here to be ignored," he said flatly.

"Ah, you made it!" Tamaki stood up with his arms spread, smiling widely. "Welcome to the first meeting of the Ouran High School Host Club!"

"We're still in middle school," the twins said, pointing at each other.

This didn't seem to deter Tamaki. He simply shrugged. "It's a work in progress," he reasoned. "At any rate, our first day open to the girls will be on Saturday so we're preparing. Oh, right. Hikaru and Kaoru, this is Hunny-sempai, Mori-sempai, and Kyouya." Each nodded in turn.

"So…what do we _do_ in this club?" Kaoru asked.

"Exactly what it sounds like," Kyouya answered this time, closing his notebook and walking over. Hikaru and Kaoru had heard rumors about the youngest Ootori. He was known to be cold and efficient with something to prove. They wondered how Tamaki ever convinced someone like Kyouya to take part in this nonsense. "We will open our doors on pre-chosen days to allow the female student body to sample our services. They will be allowed to sit and have tea with us and enjoy our company while we lavish them with attention."

"And, what, they pay to sit with us?" Hikaru asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course not!" Tamaki cut in dramatically. "It would be criminal to charge ladies to honor us with their graceful presence!" The look on Kyouya's face told the twins that this concept was purely Tamaki's idea.

"But of course this club is an independent activity, with no foreseeable benefit to the school," Kyouya added, revealing his role in all of this, "And so the school will not fund anything for it. We were lucky enough to be provided use of this room. But we will have to find a way to fund this Host Club ourselves. We will need to purchase tables, proper seating, refreshments…" Kyouya read from a list in his notebook.

'So _that's_ what he was doing…' Kaoru though, sitting on the arm of the sofa. Hikaru stayed standing, leaning over and supporting himself by resting his elbow on Kaoru's shoulder. The younger twin didn't mind.

"Until we can find a more…independent source of money," Kyouya continued, snapping his notebook shut as Honey tried to peak at it, "We'll have to rely on family donations. My own family has not expressed an interest in the club's wellbeing, and Tamaki's father will be unable to help out of concern of the appropriateness of an authority figure of the school favoring an independent activity. In short…"

"It's up to the rest of us to mooch some funding off of our parents," Hikaru cut him off.

Kyouya's mouth twitched, but he held his composure. Tamaki cut in to save them from carnage. "It doesn't have to be a large sum," he said quickly. "Just enough to start us off. We'll think of ways to make money after we see how successful we are."

"But how is the Host Club going to _work_?" Hunny spoke up. He had determined that a change of subject was in order.

"Each of us will have a different part of the room to entertain from," Tamaki replied, happy to discuss something that wouldn't cause Kyouya to lose his temper.

"We're not going to be separated," Hikaru immediately got defensive, squeezing Kaoru's shoulder with his hand. Kyouya raised an eyebrow and opened his notebook again, rapidly taking notes.

"Don't worry," Tamaki held up his hands in a gesture of peace. "You two will be together, as well as Mori-sempai and Hunny-sempai. We don't want to break of a team if they work best together." Mori didn't say it, but he couldn't help but think how Kyouya-ish that sounded.

As Hikaru relaxed his grip, he felt the tension leave Kaoru as well. The younger twin had been understandably just as worried of separation.

"We'll decide on seating arrangements and such after we've bought everything we need. Don't forget to ask your parents for donations tonight. Report tomorrow with their checks if you can manage it," Kyouya all but ordered. He then looked meaningfully at Tamaki.

Tamaki stared blankly at him for a moment before figuring out what it meant. "Okay, we're all free to go now," he said, standing up. He obviously didn't think they should have been done, but didn't want to argue with the already partly agitated Kyouya.


	2. Dinner, Doubts, and Memories

Disclaimer: Again, I do not own Ouran Host Club, it's owned by Bisco Hatori. Please don't sue me.

Chapter 2  
Dinner, Doubts, and Memories

"So, what were you two doing after school?" Yuzuha Hitachiin inquired, settling down for dinner with the twins and her husband. This was one of the rare occasions where they were all home to eat as a family, so they wanted to take advantage of the time together.

"We joined a club," Hikaru answered.

"Today was the first meeting," Kaoru added. It was often a good idea, they discovered, to keep answers short and simple where their mother was concerned. She tended to like butting her head into other peoples' business.

"That's wonderful!" Yuzuha exclaimed. "Isn't that wonderful, dear?" she turned to her husband.

"It certainly is," he smiled then continued eating. He meant it, too. But he learned the same lesson as the twins long before. He, himself, only got involved if it was requested. Though requesting it was often hard, as people often didn't realize he was there.

"That reminds us," the twins said in unison.

"The club may not be able to even start," Kaoru started, giving his mother the biggest, wettest eyes he could muster.

"Unless we can get money donations," Hikaru finished. He didn't bother with the crocodile tears, though. They were something Kaoru could simply do better.

"Oh, no!" their mother gasped. "That's horrible! And this is such a wonderful opportunity for you boys, too! It's not often you break out of your shells and socialize!" A checkbook seemed to materialize in her hands and she wrote one of the checks. "I hope Y50,000 will be enough! You can fill in who it's to be made out to yourselves!"

"Thank you mother!" Hikaru and Kaoru said together, taking the check. As their parents went back to eating, the twins exchanged devilish, successful looks behind the small slip of paper.

()()()()()()

Later that night, as they prepared for bed, Kaoru slipped the check into a textbook for safekeeping. He had been thinking about what his mother said about them not socializing. In fact, he found that he agreed. He didn't tell Hikaru, but he was starting to think that having friends wouldn't be such a bad idea. He started as Hikaru wrapped his arms around Kaoru's shoulders from behind.

This puzzled Hikaru. They usually knew what each other was doing, even in the pitch dark. So why didn't Kaoru know that he was behind him? "Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.

"Yeah, sorry," Kaoru smiled sheepishly. "I was just thinking."

It sounded like a good enough excuse to Hikaru. "About the Host Club?" he continued. Kaoru nodded. That was more like it. "It's a bad idea."

Kaoru hesitated this time. He finally replied, "Yeah…"

Hikaru frowned. Kaoru was lying. He could tell. The problem wasn't just that he lied, though. It was that he didn't really think the club was a bad idea. As the eldest, Hikaru liked to think of himself as the voice of reason. Kaoru's sudden liking of being social was a concern. He didn't understand that people would never see him as Kaoru. They would always see him as one of the twins. Everything they did, the games they played with the girls, the way their boxed themselves in, it was Hikaru's way of protecting Kaoru. But he decided it best to play along for now. Kaoru would open up about it when he felt it was time.

"But…can we just try it?" Kaoru asked. "Just for kicks, I mean," he quickly added.

"Sure, why not?" Hikaru smirked. As long as he was going to go along with this, he might as well have some fun. "Perhaps we could mess with Tamaki-sempai's head a bit while we're there. You know, to 'thank' him for dragging us into this."

"What did you have in mind?" Kaoru asked, turning around. The mischievous glint in his eye mirror's Hikaru's, so the older brother's smile widened. _There_ was the Kaoru he grew up with.

()()()()()()()

An hour later, the twins lay in their bed, Kaoru fast asleep and Hikaru laying awake. He couldn't' get the fact that Kaoru had lied to him out of his head. The twins disagreeing on something was so rare that the only time their mom ever saw it happen she fainted. It wasn't that he didn't want Kaoru to have a mind of his own. Hikaru simply wanted to make sure that Kaoru only ever shared his thoughts with him. Each other were the only people the twins confided in, the only people they _needed_ to confide in.

The older twin smiled, remembering when they were nine and their mother was so overworked and stressed that she and their father got in a huge fight. The twins had been afraid they'd separate. Especially Kaoru.

"_Now, dear, let's calm down and…"_

"_I am calm!"_

"_I see that now. Can you please stop screaming?"_

"_I'll quiet down when you stop nagging me!"_

"_Of course, I'm sorry."_

_This was the Hitachiin parents' own special brand of arguing. Though Yuzuha did most of the actual yelling, their father only ever spoke back to her when they argued. The twins, who peaked through the door to the living room, were wide-eyed. They'd never seen their mother so angry._

"_Honey, you're going to wake the kids."_

"_I am not! Here, let's check on them and I'll show you I'm not yelling!"_

_The twins looked at each other and high-tailed it to their room as quickly as possible. They all but dived under the covers and popped their heads up on them pillows. There was an audible _BANG_ on Hikaru's side, and the older turned his face away from the door and bit into his pillowcase to keep from crying out. Kaoru was about to ask if he was okay, but their door opened at that moment and he instead closed his eyes and pretended to sleep._

"_See? I told you I wasn't being loud."_

"_Yes, dear. I'm sorry."_

_The door closed and Kaoru opened his eyes and listened. As soon as their parents' footsteps faded Hikaru sat up and grabbed his head with an, "ITTAI-I!"_

"_What happened?" Kaoru asked, wincing. He could almost feel his own head throbbing._

"_I dived too far and hit the headboard…" Hikaru groaned. He felt a lump on the back of his head. "Ittai…" he muttered again. He looked at Kaoru, who looked scared and worried. "It's just a little bump…I'll live…" he said, reaching out to his brother._

_Kaoru just shook his head. After a moment, he whispered, "Are mom and dad gonna separate?" Even though they were children, they still knew their parents' reputations would be ruined if they divorced. Members of such families instead 'separated', remaining married but living apart with little contact._

"_Of course not!" Hikaru insisted, though he really wasn't sure. But for Kaoru's sake, he needed to stay brave._

"_But what if they do?" Kaoru persisted._

"_They won't," Hikaru kept up as well. He pulled his younger twin into a hug. This fight was really scaring Kaoru. Hikaru couldn't help but be mad at his parents for causing all this._

"_What if they try to separate us?" Kaoru asked in a tiny voice._

_Hikaru's eyes widened in realization. Kaoru wasn't afraid of losing one of their parents. He was afraid of losing his brother. If their parents separated, they could each take a twin and the boys may not see each other._

"_I'd never let that happen," Hikaru reassured him. He felt Kaoru bury his head in the crook of his neck. In response Hikaru buried his own face in Kaoru's soft, red hair._

"_How?" Kaoru asked. His voice was muffled against Hikaru's shoulder._

_Hikaru had to think about that. "We'd run away," he finally answered._

"_What?!" Kaoru jerked back. "But…But…where would we go?"_

"_I don't know…" Hikaru admitted. They didn't have any friends, and any relative would send them back to their parents. "But it wouldn't matter. As long as we're together we'll never need anything or anyone."_

Hikaru moved closer to his sleeping brother, who lay with his back to the older. Hikaru wrapped his left arm around his twin and gently pet his hair with the right hand. He then lay his head gently on Kaoru's with his mouth next to Kaoru's ear.

"Don't ever forget that…" he whispered into the younger's ear. "No matter what, as long as we're together, we will never need anything…" he paused as Kaoru softly sighed and snuggled back against Hikaru's warmth. The older twin smiled and kissed his brother above his ear and finished, "…or anyone…"


	3. The Prince and the Devils

Disclaimer: I don't own them…blah blah blah… you know the drill. Hatori Bisco's not suing me, you shouldn't either.

Chapter 3  
The Prince and the Devils

The next day after school the twins returned to the Host Club. Kyouya was already filling in the blanks on the checks from the Morinozuka and Haninozuka families. Both checks were as generous as the one from the Hitachiin family.

"Here," the twins chorused, handing the check to Kyouya.

The youngest Ootori looked the check over then smiled. "Not bad. This all totals to more than enough for opening day." This was the first time the twins had seen him smile. It actually wasn't as frightening as they heard.

"So, what are we doing with the rest of the money?" Hunny asked. He was sitting on Mori's shoulders, the much taller standing nearby the twins. Hikaru and Kaoru could barely believe Hunny was in his second year of high school. They had an even harder time with the fact that he was the former leader of the Karate Club.

"We don't have to spend it right now," Kyouya pointed out. "It's usually best to keep extra cash set aside in case something goes wrong."

"Nothing could possibly go wrong!" Tamaki declared dramatically. He had been sitting on the sofa, deep in thought. "After all, what lady _wouldn't_ enjoy being served tea and attended to by the six most desired gentlemen in the Ouran Academy?"

"Still, there is no harm in being cautious," Kyouya added. It was becoming swiftly apparent that he was the voice of reason between the two.

"Before we start discussing the opening day of the Host Club," Tamaki decided it best to change the subject, and polite to ask, "Does anyone have any questions?"

Kaoru's hand shot up. "Why a Host Club?"

"An excellent question, Kaoru," Tamaki smiled. He was quite confident in his supposed ability to tell them apart. The truth was that he was just a really lucky guesser.

"I'm Hikaru," Kaoru quickly lied.

"My apologies," Tamaki looked a bit embarrassed, but it quickly passed. "I've always had a fascination for commoner culture, and for them Host Clubs are quite popular. Places where young ladies who do not know the luxury of being cared for in daily life can pay to be waited on hand and foot by handsome men. And so I thought, 'Why can't we introduce the ladies of our world into this noble concept'."

"So this entire thing was your idea?" Hikaru asked.

"Indeed it was, Kaoru," Tamaki nodded.

"I'm _Hikaru_!" the older twin snapped.

Tamaki stared blankly at the two of them. He could have _sworn_ the other twin said… He shrugged it off. "My mistake," he said apologetically. "It won't happen again."

The twins smiled devilishly at each other. This was going to be the most fun they'd had in a long time.

"As I was saying," Tamaki continued, "It _was_ my idea, but I couldn't have pulled it together without Kyouya." He then made a grand gesture towards the rest of the group. "And my dream can only continue as long as we all work together!"

Hikaru rolled his eyes. Tamaki had to be the most ridiculous person he'd ever met.

Tamaki didn't notice. "Now, there are some big decisions to be made concerning opening day. Kyouya, can you name a few of them?"

So, for the next ten minutes they listened as Kyouya highlighted the biggest concerns of opening day, among which was advertising.

"Obviously, we need something creative and memorable for this," Tamaki said thoughtfully.

"Something bright!" Hunny added. "And colorful!" He'd moved from Mori's shoulders to the sofa during Kyouya's list of concerns. Mori stood almost dutifully behind him, like a knight guarding royalty. He was so silent, most of the others didn't even remember he was there.

"A banner!" Kaoru suddenly exclaimed. This startled even Hikaru. He was thinking the same thing, of course, but he wasn't going to say anything. Kaoru, on the other hand, seemed to be actually _enjoying_ himself.

"I like it!" Tamaki stood up. "Bravo, Kaoru!"

"Hikaru!" Kaoru huffed.

Hikaru smirked. 'At least he's keeping up with our plan.'

Tamaki shook his head and looked back and forth between them. This was getting very confusing. Of course, that was the twins' idea. "S-sorry…" he said, scratching his head. "At any rate, it's a great idea. I can ask my father if we can hang one up!" He then stopped and a gleam of excitement appeared in his eyes. "Wait, not on! Two! One for the school's main hall, and the other for the dining hall!"

Kyouya was writing at full speed. This was all precisely why they needed the extra money. He had to hire a printer, pay for materials, have the halls' widths measured for size…

"What will it say?" Hunny asked.

"How about, 'Open the door to the Third Music Room'…" Kaoru started.

"'And join the boys of the Ouran Host Club'!" Hikaru finished. Kaoru's excitement was starting to rub off on him.

"There should be more," Hunny pointed out. "Like… 'Enjoy exotic cakes and teas'!"

"'Where every lady is a princess'!" Tamaki started into it too. "This certainly was a wonderful idea, Hikaru!" he laughed as he turned to Kaoru.

"_I'm_ Hikaru!" the older twin insisted.

"Wait…what?" Tamaki pointed at them both, dumbfounded. He still didn't seem to get it. "Wait, wait, so…which of you is Hikaru?"

"I am!" the twins said at the same time.

Tamaki blinked. "Then who's Kaoru?"

"He is!" the twins pointed at each other.

Tamaki slapped his forehead. This was getting him nowhere fast.

"Tamaki, don't bother with them," Kyouya finally spoke up. "They'll just keep confusing you if you try to call them individually. Just call them the twins!" He snapped his notebook shut and stood up as the twins glared at him. "I can tell we've depleted our ability to be productive. I'm leaving." And without another word, he indeed left.

"We'd better get going too," Hunny smiled. He hopped back up onto Mori's shoulders. The taller high schooler nodded to the group as they headed for the door. "Bye bye!" his much smaller companion waved as they left.

This left the twins and Tamaki. Not wanting to spend more time alone with the strange blond than needed, the twins headed for the door. "See ya!" they chorused, looping their arms while wearing their devilish smiles.

"Wait!" Tamaki demanded. The usual cheerful tone was completely gone from his voice.

The twins stopped and turned their heads toward Tamaki. "Yes?" they inquired.

Tamaki, for the first time since they met him, looked truly angry. He folded his arms across his chest and pursed his lips together. He actually reminded the twins of a father about to reprimand his children.

"Is this going to be a problem?" Tamaki finally asked.

"Whatever do you mean?" the twins asked innocently.

"You know what I mean," Tamaki huffed. "This attitude. I know you aren't used to having friends, but that's what we all are now. Friends. Most importantly, the rest of us are very excited about being able to have a successful opening day and keep this club going. If you two are going to ruin it for us and the customers then I'm afraid you can't remain a part of this.

Hikaru and Kaoru looked at each other. They then shrugged and declared, "Whatever!" As soon as they turned away from Tamaki, though, Kaoru's face turned worried. He wanted to stay in the club, but he didn't want to stay without his brother. He knew that if Hikaru caused too much trouble, though, then the younger twin would have to choose between the two.

As they walked down the hall, Kaoru debated telling his brother how he felt. 'Who am I kidding?' he thought. 'Hikaru already knows. I don't know why I'm bothering to hide anything from him.'

As if on cue, Hikaru asked, "Why do you like this Host Club so much?"

"I don't know…" Kaoru shrugged. "I guess because they're not like everyone else. They're different…like us."

"Nobody's like us!" Hikaru snapped. He was determined to retain his stubborn disdain for other people. Kyouya's attitude toward them helped feed that fire.

"I'm sorry," Kaoru muttered, looking away. He didn't have to say it was for lying the previous night. Hikaru already knew.

"I know," the older smiled, squeezing his twin's arm a little tighter. "Just promise you'll never lie to me again."

Kaoru took a deep breath and smiled back. "I promise."


End file.
